The transition from the customer in the showroom to the online digital customer that submits a lead has proven difficult for some to wrap their arms around. The biggest reason is simple! The interaction is taking place behind a screen, and since the physical person isn’t standing in front of your sales rep, the attention to detail and urgency are often lacking. But consider this from the Harvard Business Review “50% of buyers choose the vendor that responds first,” and “the odds of the lead entering the sales process, or becoming qualified, are 21 times greater when contacted within the first 5 minutes versus 30 minutes after the lead was submitted.” Would you go to Vegas if you had a 50% advantage over the competition? I would!
Business owners spend a lot of time and money to drive people to their websites, to generate leads, and then we don’t respond in a timely manner because the customer isn’t standing right in front of us, but in reality, they are!
So what can you do to ensure you’re not missing business?
1. Answer all leads in a timely manner (5 min or less)
2. Use a CRM to track customer leads and follow up with your staff
3. Be sure to address all of the customers’ questions the first time
4. Do things to differentiate yourself and be personal
- Include a picture of yourself in the signature line of your email
- Make sure there are multiple ways your customer can contact you (email address, cell phone, store phone, social media handles, etc.)
- Consider adding a video of the product the customer is inquiring about
5. Consider adding a tool like CallDrip. This tool is simple and affordable. Once a lead hits your CRM, within 20 seconds, your phone will ring and ask you if you want to be connected to the phone number the customer left in their lead. Often times the customer is still on your website and you’re able to start the conversation before the consumer shops other sites.
6. Make sure you are staffed properly to handle the lead volume. That ratio looks a little different in each business/industry, but proper follow-up takes time and there is such a thing as too many leads per person to actually follow-up with effectively.
There’s not a one size fits all solution. You have to decide what’s best for your business. But this is a very important part of any business in the digital age, especially with the transition of shopping behaviors from consumers.
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